Budget to focus on job creation, expansion of new sectors – Edghill

By Michael Younge –

Junior Finance Minister Bishop Juan Edghill said Guyanese should expect a people’s budget this year, as more focus is being placed on alleviating underemployment and poverty, while strengthening and expanding new and emerging sectors to consolidate growth and development.

“Our business is serving the Guyanese people and ensuring that they get what they deserve…. and that government bureaucracy does not lead to antagonism and frustration, but to ensure that people walk away from government agencies smiling that their government is working for them,” he advised.
Speaking during the Current Issues and Analysis Show aired on Television Guyana/Ch 28 on Tuesday evening, Edghill explained that government was preparing to present the national budget through Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh “soon”.
Guyana Times International understands that the budget may be presented to the National Assembly at its next sitting, which is yet to be scheduled, given the fact that the proceedings ended abruptly at the last session. Talks to decide the date are ongoing.
“Guyana is in a very serious development mode and Budget 2013 will accelerate progress in this respect,” Edghill noted, explaining that Guyanese can expect a re-launch of the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency, which seeks to match unemployed citizens with employers who are looking to fill vacancies. This agency has long been criticised, as youth cry out about the apparent unavailability of jobs to suit their qualifications and experience.
The minister boasted that the “revamping” and “reorganisation” of the entity will enable it to do much more than just match the unemployed with prospective employers. “…And this would not just be a centralised Georgetown operation but it would be regionalised as well.” he said.

Modern labour market
He added that the University of Guyana will be expected to play a critical role in providing the quality of education in areas that are relevant to the modern labour market.
“The question must be asked: Are our young people pursuing education with respect to the development agenda?” Minister Edghill said, explaining that several projects have slowed down along the coast because of the lack of various skills.
He said the Board of Industrial Training and several other key stakeholders, including the university, will play an integral role in dealing with this dilemma.
The minister said efforts are being made to improve tertiary education by introducing online degrees at the university, which will work with internationally recognised institutions to tackle gaps that lead to increased underemployment and unemployment.
He said that the government’s information technology strategy would play a critical role in making these online degrees a reality and citizens who benefit from its One Laptop Per Family project stand to profit the most. The fibre-optic cable being laid by government will play a critical role in this respect.
The minister was adamant that the Donald Ramotar administration was focused on youth empowerment and therefore allocated increased resources to tackle issues affecting youths.
“But of course no group was excluded,” he insisted as he explained that the 2013 budget had goodies for all citizens, regardless of political affiliation, race or economic standing.

Food security
Budget 2013 will also see renewed focus on safeguarding the gains made in the area of food security by improving the production of non-traditional crops and livestock.
According to Minister Edghill, the budget includes an incentive regime which will see small-, medium-and large-scale farmers benefitting from a fertiliser, training and assistance project and other initiatives.
Edghill also addressed issues related to government’s move to develop a new housing scheme for young professionals with the aim of keeping them in the country, while alluding to other incentives that could reverse the unfortunate migration trends that have affected Guyana and other Caribbean countries over the last four decades.

In tune with ordinary man
The junior finance minister explained that contrary to public belief, government was in tune with the expectations of many critical stakeholders, none more than the ordinary man who sometimes feels that he may not benefit from the trickledown effects of state projects.
“We feel the impatience of the Guyanese people. In the areas where we have built roads, people now want the pavements for their children to walk… in the areas where we have built roads and pavements, they now want street lights… and in the areas where we have built roads, lights and security, they now want street bumps, because there is a multitude of cars which people have acquired, because they now have more disposable incomes,” he pointed out.
“We have to prioritise and it is in that prioritising that we are in the stages of crunching the final numbers…”
Asked about government’s expectations of the opposition and their reaction to the budget, Minister Edghill said that President Donald Ramotar had mandated in-depth consultations with all concerned stakeholders, including the opposition, with the aim of avoiding gridlock and creating buy-in.
“Budget 2013 needs to be respected by all Guyanese stakeholders, inclusive of law-makers as well as citizens. I am fully aware that the nation is waiting with great anticipation for the presentation of Budget 2013 and I think they are also looking to see what will be the attitude and the response of the opposition benches of the National Assembly, because the people want development in Guyana and they want their government to work for them,” the minister noted.